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the following goals:
Provide increased instructional time for literacy, writing,
math, and science
Provide time for targeted individual instruction and increase
opportunities for an entire classof students to have uninterrupted
instruction
Maintain Lower Merion School Districts commitment to meeting the
holistic needs of all
children
Provide time for staff to collaborate, plan and review data
Address teacher accountability
At the School Board meeting on April 15, I reviewed the current
elementary schedule and focused onthe time spent outside of the
grade-level classroom for specials, enrichment and support
services, etc.However, our most pressing concern is the amount of
quality time that children have working with their
grade level teacher. The current schedule is based on a five-day
cycle and includes the followingallotment of time for art, music,
physical education, FLES and library:
Art: 60 minutes grades 1 to 5
Music: 60 minutes (or two 30 minute periods) in grades 1 to
5
PE/Health: 30 minutes for Kindergarten and 60 minutes (or two 30
minute periods) forgrades 1 to 5
FLES: 90 minutes for grades 2 to 5 (grades 4 and 5 may be two 45
minute periods asneeded)
Library: 30 minutes for grades K to 5
We believe that our current proposal makes modest adjustments to
the schedule and moves us closerto our goals. It also provides a
balance within the school day to address the increasing demands of
theinstructional program. The proposal is as follows:
Establish a six-day cycle
Begin the instructional day five minutes earlier Create
dedicated blocks of time for students to receive enrichment and
support servicesthat do not interfere with core instructional
time
Maintain current length of time for each class meeting of art,
music, physical education,world language (FLES) and library
Under this proposal (moving to a six-day cycle), the number of
class meetings for these subjects
7/28/2019 Update Regarding LMSD Elementary School Schedule
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would be reduced from 36 class meetings to 31 class meetings
each year, resulting in a reduction ofinstructional time by about
300 minutes per year. It is important to note that there would be
no cuts tobudgets for these programs, no staff cuts and we will
continue all complimentary programs includingguest speakers, plays,
musical performances, artists-in-residence, etc. Additionally, we
can providegreater continuity in the school day, fewer
interruptions for classroom teachers and accommodate theteachers
requests for more time to teach mathematics, writing, science and
literacy. The six-day cycletransforms what is currently a
condensed, disjointed schedule into one that provides more
cohesive,consistent instructional time.
I want to emphasize that this proposal is still under
consideration. There has not been a decision toimplement this
proposal at this time. If you have additional ideas and
suggestions, please do nothesitate to contact me or your school
principal. The final recommendations will be shared with allparents
prior to the May 6 meeting of the Curriculum Committee of the
Board. At the meeting, therewill be an opportunity to make comments
on the final proposal. You may also submit comments andsuggestions
via email at [email protected]. Our goal is to continue to
provide the bestpossible school experience for our children, within
the context of a variety of competing priorities. Wehave kept an
open mind to consider various options and strategies and will rely
on the valuablefeedback we continue to receive from staff, parents
and community members.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Christopher McGinley, Ed.D.
Superintendent
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